July 26, 2011

Every year, my friend April (obsessed with TV and pop culture as she is) chooses a different theme for her birthday party. Last year, we went all out and dressed as characters from our favorite Joss Whedon shows (I was Inara, by order of the birthday girl herself). This year, she opted for a group favorite, Supernatural.

I admit, I was late to the game on Supernatural. When the show first started, I thought it sounded stupid, so I decided not to watch (and I’m one of those people who HAS to watch from the beginning or I won’t even give it a shot). Sometime last year, all of my friends were talking about how amazing the story had become (season 5 saw all of heaven and hell go to war with each other, and Sam and Dean Winchester, the show’s protagonists, where right at the center). I was laid up with the flu and figured I had nothing better to do, so I zoomed through all 4 and a half seasons in just about a week. Watching the show that quickly (and catching up right before the story line became AMAZING) hooked me in tight. Weekly discussions about how Sam is an idiot or about Dean’s lips (come on girls, you know what I’m talking about) are the norm now.

Where was I (besides thinking about Dean’s lips, that is)? Oh, right, April’s birthday. Once again, we all dressed in costume (I was the seer Pamela, by order of the birthday girl) and ate burgers and pie, befitting the boys. We drew devil’s traps on the walkway to the house, and we scared off the neighboring kids by taking photos of each other holding huge demon-hunting knives.

And while the birthday girl was thinking about the party, the rest of us were thinking about her gift. Megan suggested creating Sam and Dean dolls for April, and as a group, we ran with the idea.

The dolls are from Mattel, with clothing sourced from other Ken doll sets and online retailers (and one Edward Cullen doll, whose clothes were perfect for the boys). We also “made” a Castiel doll, and by made, I mean we found a doll that looked exactly like Castiel and then I made wings. (Bonus points if you know what that doll is originally from.) The Sam doll looked just slightly evil, like he was about to drink a demon’s blood, and the Dean doll spoke when you pressed a button (we recorded him yelling “SAM!”). Each boy had a tattoo over his heart, and Dean even had his lucky amulet on.

Megan put together a fantastic box for the dolls, including amazing copy on the back as if it were a real toy you could buy. She even fashioned the interior of the box to look like Bobby’s study, so the boys could have a home base to hunt from.

Besides Cas’ wings, I made most of the accessories for the dolls (although everyone chipped in once I showed them how much fun Fimo could be). I am especially proud of John Winchester’s journal (with additional pictures here, here, and here) and the fake IDs for the boys. The journal pages are all from an official Supernatural website (thumbnails of which I grabbed from the Supernatural wiki), and I used tiny jump rings to hold them together. When the rings were sewn into the book cover, the pages really turned. I also made a whole stash of weapons (including Ruby’s knife, the Colt with inscriptions, and the Sword of Brunswick) in a tiny duffel bag, Sam’s laptop (which really opens and closes thanks to a hinge), and a cooler filled with food (because those boys sure do like to eat).

April’s face as she opened her present was fantastic, but she was quick to start asking for more characters. Next birthday, maybe.